If you want to be good at something, you have to make sacrifices. That is what I have earned in life – learning new things can cause some pain. Guitar fingerings are one of those things.
When I learned my first song on my new guitar, my finger tips hurt so much that I thought I would never be able to play again! But, of course, like most people I got used to it. Now I don’t feel that same pain anymore.
We shall start with the basics, the fingering. Fingering is placing the correct finger on the correct string so we have to name the fingers one by one. The index finger will be finger number one, the middle finger will be number two, the ring finger number three, and the little finger shall be number four, easy right?
Now, I would highly recommend that you do not get frustrated if you cannot do a certain chord pattern just yet, especially if you are being taught by someone and he or she can already do it. There are some anatomic differences between you and your tutor, some of the fingering work may work for him or her and not for you. The thing about fingering is that you have to practice and see what is comfortable for you and that it will not make you feel clumsy or awkward when holding the guitar.
I have done some research on guitar fingering and I have come across quite a few methods. There are scientific ways of guitar fingerings. There’s notational guitar fingering and then there is common guitar fingerings. The scientific way is a methodological procedure on the right fingering technique. The notational fingering is based on the notes that you will use basically not using a tab but by using musical notes instead. The third is the common guitar fingering and this is generally what most people use.
Now the thing is, every guitar player has his or her own style, dependant on the type of music they are playing. Through my research, I have learned that you should try the fingering position on your own before trying with a tutor. Bear in mind that if a finger corresponds to a number or position on how to press “A” chord, some will play using finger number one; some will play with finger number two and so forth. Some will even play using the same finger to press all three chords. For some it is easier to switch from the “A” chord to the “A” minor position using three fingers rather than just using one finger.
You should therefore try out the different fingering systems by yourself to get a feel for which is easier before starting out with a professional tutor.
Guitar fingerings are a complicated topic and when it comes to studying guitar, there are no set guidelines on how to do it or how to teach it.
